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History of the Dominion
The First King Dro'all recorded civilization dates back to their first semi-permanent settlements. Before that time nomadic tribes roamed their homeworld, normally staying close to the shallow seas and marshes. Most dwellings made of organic building materials such as wood or sod did not tend to last long in this environment. Because of this nomads would settle in one area for only a short time before moving on, allowing nature to reclaim the land. The first truly permanent settlements were sturdy constructs farther inland, using stone packed with mud, or carved from fissures in rocks. These were to protect mainly against the elements or animals rather than from other tribes. Farming was slow to develop and most tribes lived off of fishing from the marshes or harvesting non-poisonous plants. Ancient Dro'all tribes may not have been overly violent towards each other but they did have disputes. When disputes escalated to the point of turning entire tribes against one another an outsider was often sought to find a solution. On occasion this could be an elder from another tribe that was not involved or other individuals considered knowledgeable. Some races of Dro'all live longer than others. Their biological cycle takes longer resulting in increased life span. The longer lived Dro'all would eventually become the nobility of later civilizations but this would not happen for a very very long time. A group of nomads of one of these races had traveled far and seen much. Their elder was sought often for arbitration between disputing groups having accumulated a great deal of wisdom over the long years. Eventually the elder settled at a location that would be easy for people from many tribes to reach. In addition to acting as a place of arbitration for many disputes this settlement became a crossroads for trade. The first such arbitrator to be written of is Dar'sha Hrena, often called "The First King" in later texts. While the disputes Dar'sha arbitrated solutions for may be considered minor by today's standards, they may have made the difference between life or death for entire tribes. Droughts, floods and poisonous plants and animals claimed the lives of more Dro'all than anything else and for tribes to survive it was often necessary to relocate into the lands of others. The tribe of the First King chose the location of their city well, it was never molested by floods or earthquakes, and primitive aqueducts thwarted serious droughts. Children of the longer lived clans would venture out into the world, exploring and seeing what was to be found beyond the local settlements. Sometimes they and others founded settlements of their own, other times they returned with knowledge of other peoples and lands. Eventually one who had seen and done much and was the wiser for it was chosen as the successor to the arbitrator. In this way Dro'all civilization grew and matured into nations and flourished. The arbitrators became much as Kings, but their title was not hereditary; only the very wise would be allowed to rule. When larger nations began to have disputes with each other their arbitrators and Kings again sought out neutral third parties much as they and their ancestors had done within their nations. The Dro'all remained largely peaceful through this period with little violence. Many attribute this to low population growth resulting from the environment, dangerous animals, disease and the primitive state of medicine. As these problems were in turn eliminated over the millennia things changed. The rise of populations and the pressures placed upon the biosphere were dramatic. Soon there was simply not food enough for all and the Kings and Arbitrators could no longer find solutions. For the first time in its history Dro'all society was faced with a wave of violence. The Dawn Wars For a period of slightly less than six thousand years the Dro'all fought bloody wars across all three subcontinents of their homeworld. Most were for control of land or water with which to grow food. All sides soon realized the importance of protecting infrastructure and resources from damage in battle, something that has stuck with them to this day. In this period many of the world's predators were slowly domesticated or exterminated, some being used as war beasts. A tactic used by some clans was to unleash dozens of wild predators near the holdings of rivals to harm livestock. These sort of attacks only helped to accelerate efforts to wipe out harmful animals that could be used in such a manner. Technologies with which to build or destroy advanced, as did methods to increase crop yields. Aqueducts made the few deserts habitable as did terraced farming in the mountainous regions. Skill with the working of stone extended into the construction of more heavily fortified cities. Siege warfare became commonplace, while weapons of war such as the chariot never truly developed because of poor terrain. Through much of the wars there was fierce competition between the kingdoms deeper in the mountains, with easier access to metals and harder stone for their cities, and those of the flood plains with their larger populations. Smaller nations from the flood plains were known to sell their services to the mountain clans as mercenaries in return for iron and weapons. The result was a situation similar in some respects to the modern Dominion, only with the many and varied Mountain clans in place of the Seven. These conflicts came to a swift end with the discovery of explosive compounds. Nitrates had been in development to fertilize crops for one of the leading nations. Believing it would secure them dominance by being able to feed their populace and armies they had taken efforts to secure most readily available sources across the planet. When the breakthrough discoveries were made in nitrate based explosives the Hy'drang nation were able to quickly capitalize on this, rapidly conquering vast swaths of land and water. Cannons and mortars allowed direct assaults on previously unbreachable strongholds meaning there were now few that could defend against them. Any others who gained access to such weapons were unable to produce nitrates in sufficient quantities and were soon forced to capitulate. The dawn wars ended with one clan, one House, now effectively ruling the planet. Many smaller nations still existed but few wished to risk conquest by opposing them. With so much territory and so many people, governing it all would be a monumental undertaking. New laws governing population control were passed and enforced harshly. Society would crumble if they could not be maintained and the people kept fed. The basic framework of the current system of Houses were put into place in this time period. Nobles were put in charge of maintaining the law in their respective territory and were answerable to the new Emperor. An attempt to return to the old ways of arbitration was attempted but it was difficult having faced war for so long. Lesser Houses still warred against each other but if it threatened to spill out of control House Hy'drang threatened to intervene. The peace was maintained by the Ruling House long enough for spaceflight to become a reality. The First Dynasty of the Royal Houses had begun. Dominion The First Dynasty saw the development of space flight and an aggressive settlement of the Dro'all home system. Asteroids were converted into orbital habitats and plans began to take shape to send ships to distant stars. Generation ships were eventually launched but rarely if ever heard from again. With overpopulation being a constant source of concern it was decided that some entire Houses would be selected to be sent off world to other systems. This started with smaller Houses, but as new technology became available larger populations were sent in suspended animation. It is suspected as many as half of the ships that initially left the homeworld failed to reach their destinations and those that survived held little allegiance to the Ruling House. Houses were able to establish themselves on far away worlds after dozens or hundreds of years travel, alone to rule worlds and systems were they had once only held small nations. Without realizing it the First Dynasty had ended the moment the generation ships were beyond their control. While they continued to rule the homeworld they were far less powerful than what they had created. Other Houses faced the same problems, a slower than light space empire was impossible to govern and maintain control of. The first three dynasties are considered to have existed in such a state, often simultaneously without knowing the extent and power of their rivals. There are only a few known instances of attempted invasion of other worlds or systems during the period. The same can not be said for attempts to capture ships visiting systems to trade high value goods. These sorts of incidents complicated relations and hampered the formation of an interstellar economy. After more than 3000 years as a space faring civilization an exploratory slowboat discovered the rare element now used in the creation of FTL drive systems. The planet it was discovered on was uninhabitable however meaning only small amounts could be recovered in the time available. Samples were shipped back to a settled star system, a flight taking decades. Scientists quickly learned of the properties of the material but development was both slow and dangerous. What little was developed from the samples proved insufficient both in knowledge gained and the quantity needed for production of working prototypes. An entire colonization expedition was launched by House Che'len knowing full well the dangers of sending people to a system without any habitable worlds. They would need to mine local resources upon arrival and hope they would be sufficient to provide air, fuel and water. There were many hardships but the expedition was ultimately a success and established a permanent outpost. Scientists began work on prototype drive systems that would hopefully propel ships faster than light speed. Drive field theory and the concept of core focusing systems were realised over a few dozen years, but not a method of actually propelling the ship through subspace. By that time it had been centuries since the first discovery of the system. Word had spread to many Houses who in turn sent ships of their own. Some came with plans to conquer, coerce or buy the secrets that had been learned so far. Those from House Helios offered their technial expertise and a military alliance provided that they be given power and rank second only to the eventual new Ruling House. The House Che'len team accepted the Helios offer and, while still few in number, the combined forces of the two were able to hold off numerous attacks by individual Houses. The delay proved long enough for a solution to be found. Magnetic fields were of limited effect but it was measurable. Using some of the failed drive prototypes they were able to modify focusing systems to project a field outside the ship in a manner similar to that of electromagnets. These primitive drive plates were crude but they worked. Ships could traverse a light year in a day but the power costs were staggering. Even with new fusion reactors ships could not traverse more than two light years without having to drop out and recharge capacitors for days at a time. It took a mere five years for a small fleet of ships to be built, traveling back and forth between House Che'len territory and what was now the most valuable planet in the Dominion. Interstellar Frigates and Cruisers were built, each with enough power systems and capacitors to reach distant systems even if it might take weeks or months for their drives to recharge. The early warships were built similar to sublight nuclear pulse propulsion ships, with thick armor on the bow and engines to protect from meteor strikes and weapons fire. Ten years of building and conquering later House Che'len gathered their forces and those of House Helios and returned to the Dro'all homeworld. House Hy'drang was taken by surprise. Their orbital defenses were prepared for attacks by nations on the surface, or from the in system colonies, all of which could be anticipated days or weeks in advance. Sixteen Frigates and five Cruisers entered orbit within three days of arriving in the system, their crews filled with veterans who had fought against generation ships from a half dozen Houses. There was no battle for the skies of the homeworld, no orbital bombardment, no fighting in the streets. The leader of House Hy'drang stepped down knowing their time had come and gone long ago. Che'len was given all resources belonging to their predecessor which they used to good effect in consolidating control. Helios was rewarded, their leader promoted to a position now referred to as a Duke. Within the year House Che'len renamed itself House Hedron ushering in the Fourth Dynasty and setting the precedent for modern traditions. Some Dynasties since have temporarily changed the name back to House Hy'drang. The majority have maintained the name of House Hedron as long as they remain the Ruling House. Once driven from power Houses revert to their previous name. War Among the Stars Much as the first Ruling House had done to unite the homeworld in the distant past, House Hedron now did with the fractured slower than light space empire. Over the next century each system was brought into line with an increasingly powerful Navy and Royal Guard. Every House and star system was made to understand the new reality being presented them. The scattered Dro'all peoples were once again unified, though this unity remained tenuous as usual. Initially House Helios were the only other group given permission to use faster than light starships but this could not last forever. As exploration ships found new systems and worlds suitable for colonization entire nations were once again given the chance to leave the homeworld and form new Houses. This time they were given the choice of going rather than being forcibly exiled. Of the Houses that agreed to leave all territory and any civilians choosing to stay behind would now be under the control of House Hedron. In this manner the new Emperor slowly gained control of all land on the Homeworld. Embassies were maintained but these were minor outposts and were insufficient for rivals to use as the launch points of military campaigns. Over the course of the Fourth Dynasty the Dominion expanded rapidly, almost exponentially at first compared to what had come before. The number of Houses off of the homeworld jumped from less than a dozen to more than one hundred. Still their reign was short, lasting barely three centuries. They were unable to maintain a monopoly on faster than light starships and as Houses began to gain control of these ships themselves their hold became tenuous. Forces from what would become the Fifth Dynasty found and secured another world where the drive core element was located. With it they built fleets of their own then struck at the processing center used by the Ruling House for their fleet. House Che'len stepped down when it became obvious they no longer had the fleets necessary to win a conflict. While reduced House Che'len remained a major power for centuries. In the Fifth Dynasty they and their ally Helios were the leading members of the seven Major Houses, sometimes called the High Nobility but now more often simply referred to as the Seven. While initially an informal designation over the next few Dynasties being counted as a member of the seven came to be seen as a sign of power and respect. Discovery While expansion continued it wasnt until the end of the eighth dynasty that a number of important technologies were discovered. While prospecting for rare elements a survey ship found the remains of an alien starship crash landed on a planets surface. While half of it had been destroyed enough remained to determine how its systems functioned. Energy shields, phase cannon, tritanium alloys, along with tractor and repulsor technology were all recovered. Higher efficiency jump drive systems were found aboard as well. Historians now believe the ship to have been built by the Lanican, a space faring civilization that disappeared 200,000 years ago. While none of their worlds have ever been found remains of their ships are occasionally discovered. This one's discovery would greatly accelerate the Dominion's technological development. Word spread throughout the Dominion of the find and soon Fleets from thirty Houses converged on the system in one of the longest and bloodiest ship battles in the history of the Dominion. With so many warships being drawn off to fight for control of the derilict many worlds were left undefended. House Limu'thi and House Helios both consolidated their positions and those of their allies while weakening several other major Houses. With their own worlds secured the pair of Houses struck at large scale shipyards held by their adversaries. Yards that would be needed to make use of newly discovered technologies. Only once this threat was removed did Limu'thi and Helios commit their reserves, wading into the system wide battle with their newest most advanced warships knowing they would soon be rendered obsolete by the discovered tech. House Limu'thi ultimately declared victory but it was far fom one sided. Their troops captured the reserch base which had been built around the wreck. Stranded scientists and soldiers from the other Houses had banded together to complete the facility and survive the harsh environment. With their combined skills they had made progress in reverse engineering some of the found tech. Only once sufficient data had been compiled to recreate the advanced technologies was the wreck moved off world. A pair of new starship classes were designed to make use of the recent discoveries, the House Transport and House Battleship. Transports would provide safe haven to shuttles and new starfighters now equipped with repulsors to deflect debris or assist in reentry. With shields the transports could now safely move thousands of troops without risk of interception. Battleships with heavier shields and armor could close to knife fighting range with enemy fleets, something that had been a death sentence previously. Broadside guns were able to exploit the weak flank armor of most older Dominion ships which were accustomed to engaging at long range while facing their target. Even cruisers hastily retrofitted with leaked shield designs were outclassed in every way. Battle for the Homeworld Every House that allied with House Limu'thi was utimately gifted a transport with which they carried their forces to the capital to assist the invasion. The Ruling House and its allies still fielded a numerically superior force of old type warships. In addition they launched a new command ship constructed utilizing technology their agents had stolen. The main gun, a scaled up phase cannon, allowed it to cripple three battleships before it was rammed and boarded by another three. Both fleets were mauled but neither conceeded the fight and invasion troops were dropped to the surface. The invasion of the homeworld was one of the most destructive land battles ever fought, with phase cannons being used for orbital bombardment and defenders routinely using tac nukes. Hundreds of millions if not billions died and by the time the capital was taken the homeworld was barely fit for habitation. As a result of the battle drafts of a treaty were created within the year that would serve as the basis for the later Factions treaty. Use of weapony equivilant to nuclear devices would be banned within the atmospheres of habitable worlds. There was little doubt it would be broken by some but this could be used as justification for a larger scale conflict. Age of Death / Age of Despair Summary: While expansion later resumed the Dominion had entered a long period of cultural decline. Wars against AI and the development of cloning technology occurred in this era, leaving a lasting impression. Many key leaders in the Dominion began cloning themselves as a means of achieving immortality. '' First Contact Summary: ''The Dominion eventually expanded to other galaxies, encountering the Kavarian Imperium and the early Terran Alliance. Fall of the Immortal Summary: Houses wishing to destroy the clone leadership engineered a war against the Terrans to weaken the Ruling House before overthrowing them. This nearly backfired with the Emperor offering to integrate the Terran worlds into the Dominion as House Terra. Fortunately the Terrans hubris prevented the offer being taken seriously. '' Reformation Summary: ''With the end of the dynasty the Dominion underwent a reformation, borrowing elements from ancient Human systems of nobility. Clones would also never again be allowed to legally hold positions of power. Conquest Summary: Following the reformation the new Ruling House led the Dominion in the successful conquest of the Kavarian Imperium. This marked the beginning of a nearly thousand year period in which the Dominion was the single most powerful faction in known space. Only the alliance between the Terrans and Rovinar kept them at bay. Exodus & Expeditionary Wars Summary: The fall of the old world and escape to the new. Factions struggling to survive competing for colonisation of worlds to settle their displaced multitudes. While a time of nominal peace between the Factions, the expeditionary fleets saw almost constant low level conflict with one another. Faction Wars Summary: The beginning of the Faction Wars saw the Dominion at the height of its power. By the time the conflict had concluded The Dominion had reached what could be its lowest point. Rovinar efforts to forge the Dominion and Terrans Alliance into a new super state lead by a constitutional monarchy were derailed by a Terran Civil War. Distracted by the Terran conflict the Ruling House was nearly destroyed by uprisings within the Dominion itself. Disaffected Houses and Kavarian rebels rose up, shattering what little peace remained. Post Faction Wars Summary: The whole Dominion had been weakened by a series of conflicts that included the events of the Faction Wars. Kharbos was on the verge of being deposed multiple times but recovered, though each time they did they grew weaker. There was another big Dominion civil war some time after the faction wars that was really more like the 100 years war in some ways. It spilled over into the other factions territories to the point where the Terrans and Rovinar had to mount a large scale blockade using half of their fleets. Nirium recovered from one round of fighting more quickly than other Houses and became Ruling House when few were in a position to challenge them. Warlords Summary: With the weakening of the Dominion and internal conflicts, increasingly powerful Pirate Warlords began to exploit Dominion territory to avoid reprisals by the other Factions. As the Republic's populace turned on its government in a lengthy civil war this only helped the pirates gain further power. Ruling House attempts to curb the rise of the South Reach Warlords were often hindered by other Houses attempting to oust them from power. Neeran Wars Summary: With the revelation that the Neeran Empire was manipulating the Pirate Warlords and the Factions in order to weaken them for it's invasion the Dominion went to war. The decades long war against the Neeran Empire would eventually result in a civil war that saw the transition of Ruling House status from House Nirium to House Ber'helum. With the complete dissolution of House Bonrah marking the end of the civil war. The following years saw renewed fighting against the Neerans as Emperor Ber'helum launched the Dominion on a Crusade to finally end the Neeran once and for all as the fight was taken to the Empire. Category:Dominion of Royal Houses Category:Dro'all Category:History